ODESSA, Texas —
On Thursday, Phillips 66 donated some major money to make sure swim safety programs at the Odessa Family YMCA, Midland YMCA and Odessa College stay afloat.
“We provided $115,000 to be divided up between the three organizations, and that is going to help provide the instruction and the and any materials they may need to provide these trainings and swim programs,” said Eric Edens, area operations manager for Phillips 66.
However, it’s a really big deal for Odessa College.
“So yeah, Odessa College has had swim programs on and off for as long as I can remember. I've contested that because I was a part of it when I was a kid, but as of late, the pandemic and finding the adequate amount of lifeguards it's really put a struggle and a tight hold on getting those programs started," said Adam Lucio, sports center coordinator for Odessa College. "So, this will allow us to kind of restart everything from scratch, brand new and give the community back what it deserves.”
Lucio said they owe it to the community to bringing back the program because of what it gives back to the community.
“Odessa College is the community’s college. We take pride in not only using these programs to introduce our families and students to our campus, but to also teach them skills that they're going to use for a lifetime," Lucio said. "I feel like with this grant, this partnership is going to allow us to provide that opportunity year-round.”